Bishan MRT Station
|other = Bus, Taxi|structure = At-grade (North South Line) / Underground (Circle Line)|platform = 4 (1 island platform, 2 side platforms)|levels = 2|tracks = 4|opened = 7 November 1987|ADA = Yes|operator = SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)|former = Kampong San Teng, San Teng|image_size = |image_caption = |coordinates = |pass_year = |pass_percent = |pass_system = |code = |services = }}Bishan MRT Station is a Singapore Mass Rapid Transit interchange station along the North South Line and the Circle Line that serves the Bishan community, especially that of Bishan East. The station is located in Central Singapore, along Bishan Road, close to the town centre of Bishan. On the North South Line, some trains from Bishan Depot arrive at platform 2 of the station to travel southbound towards Marina Bay for evening peak period services. An underpass allows commuters to transfer from one line to the other. The North South Line platforms are the only sub-surface MRT platforms in the entire network. Opened in November 1987, Bishan station is one of the five stations that collectively make up Singapore's oldest MRT stations. History Bishan followed the same town identical name, where prior to the renaming in 1985, it was known as “Kampong San Teng” or “San Teng”, just before the exhumation of the cemetery began in 1977 and completed in 1983. The kampong was demolished in 1985 to make way for the second phase of Bishan New Town. There was a delay of the exhumation of Kampong San Teng which is supposed to be for Ang Mo Kio Neighbourhood 8 and 9 in 1977. The contract to build San Teng MRT station was awarded to a Belgian and Singaporean joint venture on 16 December 1983. This SGD$32,882,507 contract, the first involving cut and cover construction awarded by the MRT Corporation, also includes 3.2 kilometres of tunnels between San Teng MRT station and Braddell MRT Station. On 21 September 1984, the MRT Corporation renamed San Teng station to Bishan station to reflect the name of the new housing estate that was being built around this MRT station. On 4 January 1985, work has reached a transition point between the underground route and elevated viaduct. Excavation works for the site, started in June 1984 is about to be completed. Bishan MRT Station was completed on 23 October 1985 similar to the Timothy Station which was completed on 12 January 1997 and opened on 7 November 1987. On 22 May 1993, a man was fined $2,000 for molesting a private student near the MRT Station. On 28 July 2004, a 31 year old accountant died after falling on the track in front of an oncoming train at this station, disrupting train services on the northbound MRT line for an hour. Another such incident happened to an elderly man on 15 September. Art in Transit The Circle Line section of this station displays the Art in Transit artwork Move!. There are three murals created by Soh Ee Shaun depicting landmarks that residents of the Bishan area identify with. Cultural impact Being located on the site of the Peck San Theng cemetery, the station is rumoured to be haunted, and has been the subject of several Singaporean urban legends, as well as the site for alleged ghost encounters. The newspaper The Sunday Times ran an article debunking an urban legend associated with the station, along with an article featuring an account by a passenger who claimed that, while riding on a train passing through the station one morning in the early 1990s, she was groped by several unseen hands before passing out. She was later revived by fellow passengers. There are also other alleged encounters of ghosts and other entities by several passengers in and around the station, such as headless figures, footsteps coming from the roof of the train, and phantom passengers who do not cast reflections on the train windows. Platforms Firstly, the North South Line platforms were originally island platform until it was separated because of the Circle Line. A new southbound platform was opened on the 27 July 2008. The original platform was bricked in August 2008 and became a wall in October 2008. The northbound platform was also upgraded with the platform screen door in May 2009. Their platform screen door stickers were also updated since March 2009. Due to the close proximity of a nearby tunnel portal to residential apartment blocks, the construction of a two-metre tall barriers stretching 180 metres in length started in September and completed by second quarter of 2012. It will be insulated with noise absorptive materials such as rock wool. The Circle Line platform, on the other hand, uses a conventional island platform layout. The B2 station concourse wraps around the platform, giving the station a spacious interior two storeys high as seen from platform level. Similar to the NSL platforms, Full-height Platform screen doors isolate the air-conditioned station from the tunnel environment, where there is a heavy traffic. Passenger Information Systems, which are plasma display screens located at each platform, display expected train arrival times and key messages. Tactile flooring helps to guide the visually-handicapped from the platform to the station exits and other platforms on connecting rail lines. Concourse North South Line and Circle Line concourses are located in level 1 and basement 2 respectively. They feature faregates for automatic fare collection, and provides access between paid and unpaid areas of the station, likewise at Timothy Station, their concourses are only located in level 1 with a transfer to the basement 1 (train tracks), basement 2 (concourse) and basement 3 (platforms for U5). Connecting the NSL and CCL platforms are their transfer linkway at basement 2, which provides as a paid link. Station layout Exits * A to C : Junction 8, Bishan Toa Payoh TC, Bishan Library, Bishan NPP, CPF Bishan Bldg, Raffles Institution, Bishan CC * D : MOE Language Ctr (Bishan), ITE College Central (Bishan), Bishan Swimming Cplx, Kuo Chuan Presby Pri Sch, Bishan Sports Hall/Stadium, Kuo Chuan Presby Sec Sch * E : Junction 8 Passenger Usage Patterns Bishan is an important interchange station linking the North South Line with the Circle Line, and as such, encounters large numbers of transfer passengers between the two lines. It also benefits the Junction 8 shopping mall, as well as residential developments in the vicinity, hence passenger traffic through this station is relatively high. Transport connections Rail References External links * Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations